Kabir Ali joined Lancashire on a two-year deal ahead of the 2013 season, attempting to revive a career blighted by injury in recent years. Kabir, 31, moved to Hampshire in 2010 but managed only 33 appearances in three years following a serious knee injury and a further ankle problem. A previous ankle injury also prevented him from touring India with England Lions in 2008, denying him the opportunity to return to international cricket after taking 25 wickets in 14 one-day international appearances and one Test cap between 2003 and 2006.

Kabir was initially tipped as a one of the brightest prospects on and off the field. In December 2002, when England had lost the Ashes for the eighth series in a row and the onus was on finding new blood, it seemed Kabir, a seam-bowling allrounder, was their man. His part-time career as a male model - he was once named as among the 50 most eligible bachelors in Britain by Asian Woman & Bride magazine - prompted some to raise concerns about his focus but his strength and stamina on the field, combined with an ability to hit the bat hard from just short of a length with his slingy action, soon quashed any doubts.

At a time when England fast bowlers in Australia were dropping like flies, Kabir's single-minded approach at the Adelaide Academy in 2002-03 won him many friends and promotion to the one-day squad. He made his debut the following summer, although he was not an instant success. His ODI bow was washed out before he had taken the field, while his solitary Test ended in a dispiriting defeat at Headingley, but England did not forget.

He earned a recall for the Champions Trophy in 2004 and went on to be one of England's few successes in a 4-1 series defeat in South Africa, where he was the leading wicket-taker with 13 victims.

Subsequent opportunities were few and far between - although he did impress in phases in Pakistan and India the following winter. His one-day career came to have come to a stuttering halt after he went for more than seven an over in two matches against Sri Lanka in 2006, and he was not selected for the subsequent series against Pakistan. The selectors appeared finally to have decided he was out of his depth in international cricket.

At the end of the 2009 season, with a year still left on his contract, Kabir added to Worcestershire's woes by asking for permission to speak to other counties. Hampshire eventually expressed an interest but Worcestershire, who were facing massive cut-backs and suffered a pre-tax loss of £118,439 for the year, insisted he was going nowhere unless £60,000 compensation was paid to the club. Kabir responded by snubbing the team's pre-season training in January 2010, and the dispute threatened to reach a stalemate. Eventually his move to Hampshire was secured but a serious knee problem wrecked his 2010 season and injuries have never been far away.

Kabir managed only five Championship appearances in 2011 and then missed the start of the 2012 campaign after treading on a ball and turning his ankle during a pre-season tour of Barbados. Yet he finished the season on a high note, holding his nerve when entrusted with the last over to secure a dramatic last-ball win in the final of the Clydesdale Bank 40 in September.
ESPNcricinfo staff